I only know people who either love or hate sushi. Certainly, I am among sushi addicts. Whenever I have time, I am on the ‘mission’ to try out as many new Asian places as possible. In Berlin there are plenty of restaurants offering Asian food, but only some offer really delicious & true sushi. Seems pretty easy – the sushi thing, rice and  a couple of other ingredients, but the most important in preparing it is actually the quality and freshness of fish. Can you get it for a fair price in Berlin? Hell, yes. Walking around the city on the Friday night I saw some weirdly flickering candlelight from the lanterns in front of a restaurant. Of course, it made me a bit curious so I went inside to check it out. 

 Rosenthaler Str. 63, 10119 Berlin (Mitte-between Rosenthaler Platz and Hackescher Markt)

  http://www.hashi-kitchen.de/

 10€ (Sushi roll set + beer)

 Yes

 12AM-11PM

 Yes

Most of the staff of Hashi Izakaya & Japanese Kitchen are Asians. That evening, they were all wearing retro glasses – kind of Terry Richardson’s style. The second thing noticed by me immediately was the ceiling – amazing! A very simple , yet elegant & creative ‘wave’ concept, which makes the design of Hashi Izakaya way more interesting.  This installation is resembling a 3D wave. You literally feel like all these countless wooden Japanese chopsticks form an asymmetric sky, which falls directly on you. The rods installation is indeed an insanely cool idea! 

Born in China, Ruo Xu brought an idea of this restaurant from Vancouver, Canada, where he lived for several years. He was influenced by the Japanese communities there, by the way how they eat and drink together and respect the Japanese food culture. He knew the ‘Izakaya’ concept, which is similar to a Japanese tapas bar. The idea was to make the place still affordable thus most of the stuff found on the menu doesn’t exceed 10€. With this restoration he aimed at inviting all food lovers to taste authentic Japanese tapas in Berlin Mitte, the heart of Germany.

The Hashi Izakaya concept is to serve small, tapas-like dishes. Hashi is a place, where to drink a lot of sake and eat these small stuff. The menu is really big, I would say they have around 100 or even more dishes to choose from so it might be a bit challenging to decide what you want to get. What I really liked was the daily and weekly specials presented so simply, on the white paper, hand-written. That’s cool. Menu card is not really impressive from the design – looks kind of cheap.

It’s a kind of contrast because the chopstick sky is so beautiful, the tables in the shape of the wings and a long, wooden bar giving guests a glimpse into the open kitchen is very modern. I always like to watch Chefs preparing my food. There is something special about it. You see how they chop and fry the stuff.  Going back to the menu – food. From what I tried, most of it was really good. Rainbow sushi rolls, miso soup, edamame & sashimi were amazing! Very good quality of products for an unbelievable price. Tempura was the only thing, with which I wasn’t that impressed – a little bit too oily. 

What has to be mentioned is the speed of the food delivery. They are super fast, but ordered food is coming in a random order so don’t be surprised if you will get sushi before the starter. I have tried Sake Inkura Don – basically a bowl of warm rice with salmon sashimi, egg and some small stuff on top. Go for it, but be careful, that one is pretty big & filling. Plenty of types of sushi, nigiri in all setups with different ingredients – also in the vegetarian versions. Waitresses in Hashi are pretty generous with the wine, I must admit. They have a fair selection of alcohols, beer, wine and my fav GRAUBURGUNDER – quite cheap, but it tastes surprisingly well & fits to sushi perfectly! Moving to the Hashi Izakaya’s desserts, they are all home-made and the best one is the ‘classic’ matcha ice-cream – you can’t make a bad choice with that.

Small portions, again beautiful chopsticks sky-wave, tiny & short wooden tables, small black-boards hanging from the bar – it all creates a special Hashi Izakaya & Japanese Kitchen’s atmosphere. Believe me, you might not want to leave this place 😉 There is some music in the background, people are talking, Hashi Izakaya is full of life and that’s how it should be. Who wants to sit in a quiet restaurant? The plus is also the Hashi’s location, it’s very central. Just be careful, there are not parking spots available so it’s better if you walk here. If you work nearby, Hashi is a perfect place for lunch. For me, it looks much more interesting & intriguing when the sun is down, in the late afternoon or evening. From the outside you can both see the Hashi Izakaya’s lanterns, which move in the windy weather, and also my fav chopstick wave. Well, I know I am kind of obsessed with it, but wait until you come here. I bet you will be impressed too!

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